REAC urges stakeholders to comply with Act or face sanctions. Last updated: October 12, 2026 3:00 pm The Real Estate Agency Council (REAC) has urged real estate practitioners, developers, brokers, agents, and other industry stakeholders in Ghana's real estate sector to comply with the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047), cautioning that breaches could attract administrative sanctions, licence suspension or revocation, and criminal penalties. Discover more Explore History Shop African Art Speaking during a UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Akka Kappa Ghana LTD. webinar on "Building Trust in Ghana's Real Estate Market: The Role of the Real Estate Agency Council (REAC), Compliance Requirements, and Enforcement", the Head of Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance at REAC, David Pappoe, explained that administrative sanctions included a fine of 1,000 penalty units, which he put at GH¢12,000, for such breaches as failing to comply with requirements or display a certificate or licence in an office. For criminal offences such as operating or advertising without a license, falsifying documents, and accepting cash payments, Pappoe said the penalties ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 penalty units or five to 10 years' imprisonment. Section 22 says that no person must provide real estate services as a broker or agent, or engage in any transaction without a license from REAC. So, that means when you operate without a license, it's a criminal offense", Pappoe remarked. He added, "It is a cashless sector now for real estate. Not even GHS1 must be taken in the form of cash...When you accept cash, then it means you are in breach of the Act". He, therefore, urged members of the public to verify the licence status of real estate practitioners before engaging them, and to report suspicious/cash transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and issues involving clients, developers, brokers, or agents to REAC. Understanding Act 1047 and REAC's regulatory mandate Pappoe explained that Parliament enacted the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047) to regulate real estate practice and commercial real estate transactions, including the sale, purchase, rental and leasing of property. The law also established REAC as the statutory regulator of the sector. Discover more Find Suppliers He said the council's mandate includes licensing and registering practitioners, maintaining a national register of real estate operators, publishing lists of licensed practitioners in good standing, setting professional standards, inspecting premises, and enforcing discipline across the industry. The Act regulates developers, brokerage firms, brokers, agents, property managers, marketers, salespersons and any individual providing real estate services. On compliance obligations, he stated that all practitioners must use REAC-issued forms, maintain a cashless operating environment, keep separate client accounts, preserve records for at least five years, submit quarterly transaction reports and annual audited accounts, and obtain professional indemnity cover. Support from industry stakeholders A lawyer at Legal Ink in association with Clyde & Co, Ethel Elizabeth Abruquah, agreed that stronger regulation is critical to improving confidence in Ghana's property market and protecting buyers from fraudulent transactions. She encouraged prospective property purchasers to retain lawyers and undertake extensive due diligence before committing funds. Before committing to acquiring property in Ghana, it is very important to make your own independent verifications," she said, adding that buyers should verify ownership, conduct searches at the Lands Commission, and undertake additional checks where necessary. On anti-money laundering obligations, she explained that brokers, agents and lawyers are designated accountable institutions under Ghana's anti-money laundering framework and must report suspicious transactions, conduct customer verification and comply with record-keeping requirements. Discover more Read Economics For his part, Director of Akka Kappa LTD., Edoardo Castagna, remarked that "The introduction of REAC has been extremely important," describing it as a major step towards professionalising the industry. He said the Council was helping to establish baseline standards, introduce accountability, and distinguish licensed professionals from informal operators. Castagna, however, noted that trust challenges- a major issue in the property market, often stem from information asymmetry, difficulties verifying property ownership, and the continued presence of informal operators. He was optimistic that greater public awareness of REAC's role would help sanitise the sector and improve confidence among investors, buyers and tenants. The two panellists urged the public to undertake proper due diligence, work only with licensed practitioners and make use of available legal and regulatory channels when concerns arise. From regulation to implementation The Acting Chief Executive Officer of REAC, Emmanuel Jeffrey, said the Council was working to strengthen implementation of the Act through licensing, collaboration with other institutions, public education, and increased regulatory oversight. He identified licensing as a key priority because it enabled the Council to establish a database of people operating in the sector. The most important thing for me is the licensing," he said, explaining that the objective was to ensure that everyone practising real estate in the country was registered and that the Council had data on practitioners. Jeffrey also highlighted the Council's collaboration with institutions including the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Bank of Ghana, Lands Commission, Ghana Revenue Authority and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with the Act. We don't work in isolation. We work in collaboration with institutional bodies to ensure the right thing is done". The Council is also taking steps to address unregistered operators advertising properties, as well as working with assemblies and other stakeholders on measures to ensure compliance with the Act. Jeffrey assured the public that the Council will continue its sensitisation efforts to promote awareness of the Real Estate Act, and entreated the public to engage with only REAC-licensed agents, brokers, and developers. The webinar, moderated by Michael Taabavi, Trade and Investment Advisor for Infrastructure and Energy at the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, also explored how practitioners can obtain REAC licences, the different licensing routes and requirements; Ghana's Anti-Money Laundering Act and its relationship with the Real Estate Act; and the Council's code of conduct and ethics.

gunnercooke adds 11 partners across London and Manchester in Q3. October 8, 2026 gunnercooke has added 11 partners across London and Manchester in Q3, drawing senior talent from firms including Clyde & Co, Ogier, Shoosmiths, Hill Dickinson and Katten Muchin Rosenman. The appointments span dispute resolution, real estate, banking and finance, tax, commercial and IP, employment, restructuring and charities, strengthening the full-service offering of the UK's leading fee-share law firm in two of its key markets. Eight partners have joined the London office, with the dispute resolution bench growing the most through three new partners. Fernando Martins, a dual-qualified disputes lawyer with more than 15 years' experience, arrives from Clyde & Co to grow gunnercooke's cross-border disputes offering for clients with ties to Brazil, Latin America and the wider Portuguese-speaking world. He will continue to advise multinationals, insurers, investors and Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking companies doing business internationally on arbitration and cross-border litigation. Rachel Cropper-Mawer joins from offshore firm Ogier, where she was Global Head of Regulatory, having previously co-chaired the Regulatory and Investigations practice at Clyde & Co. She brings that regulatory and investigations experience to gunnercooke's dispute resolution team. Petar Petkov joins the dispute resolution team from London litigation boutique Linkilaw. A litigator throughout his career, he handles commercial claims and disputes, including sanctions-related work, for clients ranging from airlines to international businesses, and has built close referral links with lawyers across Eastern Europe. He started his career in Switzerland and speaks Russian. Jane Ashford-Thom joins from Slateford, where she was Counsel, and brings a reputation management and data protection practice. She acts for high-profile individuals and businesses on defamation, misuse of private information and breach of confidence, with experience up to the Court of Appeal, and also advises on GDPR and wider data protection. She's currently working towards the IAPP AI Governance Professional certification, as the overlap between AI regulation and data protection becomes a bigger part of her work. gunnercooke's real estate team also welcomes two new partners, Paul Olliff and Orla Burke. Paul joins from Harold Benjamin, where he was a real estate partner. He has around 17 years' PQE in commercial property and development, acting for developers, investors, funds, high-net-worth individuals and occupiers. He's best known for his work in airspace development and has written and spoken on the subject for RICS, Construction News and The Guardian, among others. He trained at Browne Jacobson and has also worked at Fieldfisher Waterhouse, Taylor Vinters and Ashfords. Orla joins from Clintons, where she trained and spent 11 years. Her commercial property practice includes a strong line in advising theatre and entertainment businesses on their offices, shops and industrial premises, and she has well-established referral relationships with accountants and surveyors. Chris Sykes joins from Hill Dickinson, having previously practised at Fieldfisher. He's a banking and real estate finance lawyer who acts for borrowers, and over several decades he has built close relationships with major investor clients, pulling together real estate, corporate, banking and tax teams around complex deals. He'll work closely with Paul at gunnercooke. Thomas Bjorn completes the London joiners with a life sciences practice shaped by senior in-house roles. He was Head of Legal at Octapharma in Switzerland, then spent around 20 years as Head of Legal at the UK Health Protection Agency (now UKHSA), before going on to advise international pharmaceutical clients as a consultant. He also has long-standing connections in India. Manchester In Manchester, three new partners continue the firm's steady build-out of its northern headquarters adding depth in employment, restructuring and charities. Joanne Alvey joins the employment team from Horsfield Menzies Limited, bringing experience advising both employers and employees on grievance processes, senior executive dismissals and employee relations disputes. Gavin Jones joins gunnercooke's restructuring and insolvency practice from JMW Solicitors, where he headed the Corporate Recovery & Insolvency team. A licensed insolvency practitioner of more than 25 years' standing, a Fellow of R3 and previously named in The Lawyer's Hot 100, he brings experience of high-value instructions for clearing banks, asset-based lenders and insolvency practitioners. Robert Nieri joins gunnercooke's charities practice from Shoosmiths. A member of the Charity Law Association and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, he brings experience advising trustees and national charities on governance, mergers and Charity Commission engagement, and has registered a charity to support those fleeing the invasion of Ukraine. The appointments underline why gunnercooke continues to attract partners from leading national and international firms: a model that gives experienced lawyers the freedom to build their practices, backed by the scale and breadth of a full-service firm. With 11 new partners in Q3, gunnercooke is well placed to serve clients' most complex needs in London, Manchester and beyond.

New appointments in reward, payroll and Benefits - September. Reward Strategy rounds up the latest appointments and promotions across payroll, reward, employee benefits and workplace technology. Claire Cockram joins Reckitt to lead Global Payroll Transformation Claire Cockram has joined Reckitt as head of global payroll transformation and process owner, following her departure from international law firm Clyde & Co. Cockram brings more than 25 years' experience across global HR and payroll transformation, with a background in delivering complex international change programmes. In her previous role at Clyde & Co, she led the firm's global payroll transformation programme. Announcing the move, Cockram said she was "deeply proud" of the foundations built during her time at Clyde & Co and described the Reckitt position as an opportunity to work at greater scale and global impact. Shaily Sharma promoted to Payroll Director at GSR Shaily Sharma has been promoted to director, payroll at GSR. Announcing the promotion on LinkedIn, Sharma said the appointment represented a significant milestone following years of work and development within the payroll profession. The promotion strengthens Sharma's leadership responsibilities at GSR and reflects her continued progression within the organisation. Samuel Jones joins GPA's Global Advisory Service Payroll professional Samuel Jones FCIPPdip has joined the team behind the Global Payroll Alliance's Global Advisory Service. The service provides GPA members with support on technical payroll questions, process issues and wider international payroll enquiries across different jurisdictions. Jones has held a range of roles across the payroll profession, including payroll education and advisory positions, bringing both technical and practical payroll experience to the service. Mandar Naik takes on expanded reward responsibilities at LKQ Europe Mandar Naik MCIPPdip has taken on an expanded role at LKQ Europe as European Head of Compensation & Benefits. Naik has a background across payroll and reward and has increasingly moved into broader total reward responsibilities, combining payroll expertise with work across compensation and employee benefits. The move reflects the growing overlap between payroll, reward and benefits as organisations look to take a more joined-up approach to employee remuneration and workforce strategy. Broadstone appoints Ben Reyer as principal consultant Broadstone has appointed Ben Reyer as principal consultant - business protection within its Employee Benefits Consulting division. Reyer joins the consultancy from Towergate Health & Protection, now Everywhen, where he spent more than 15 years and most recently worked as business development manager within its business protection team. He brings more than 20 years' experience across business protection, insurance and employee benefits, including advising organisations on shareholder protection, key person cover, relevant life cover, loan protection and executive income protection. In his new position, Reyer will work with Broadstone clients to identify and manage risks relating to people, ownership structures and longer-term business resilience. Sébastien Cano named incoming CEO of LumApps Employee experience platform LumApps has appointed Sébastien Cano as chief executive officer, effective from 1 December 2026. Cano will succeed LumApps founder Sébastien Ricard, who will move into the position of executive chairman and remain involved in the company's strategy and governance. Cano joins from Thales, where he served as senior vice president of Cyber Security Products and led its global cybersecurity division. His career spans more than two decades in enterprise software, cybersecurity, telecommunications and financial services. At LumApps, his priorities will include expanding the company's international enterprise footprint and accelerating its development of AI-led employee experience technology. Kay Augustus joins CIPP Board Kay Augustus ChMCIPPdip has joined the board of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), with the appointment taking effect from 1 September. Augustus, founder and CEO of Augustus Payroll Services, joined the board following the departure of Brian Sparling. She had been runner-up in the institute's AGM election and has now taken up the resulting vacant board position. With more than two decades of payroll experience, Augustus founded her independent payroll bureau in 2022 and has since grown the business to support hundreds of clients and thousands of payslips each month. The appointment forms part of a wider change to the CIPP's board leadership, with Stuart Hall becoming chair and Brendan Mulkern taking up the position of vice-chair. Let Shard Financial Media Ltd. know about your move for a chance to be featured in next months edition - Share your move Add New Comment